Bog Off! Exhibit 2
At first glance this seemed a better disabled loo than many.It was clean, the door locked, and er, did I mention it was clean?
There was of course no mirror in sight, after all, disabled people couldn't possibly want to look at themselves now could they?
The real problem was a bit more fundamental than that though-size matters!
My wheelchair (pictured) is child sized and fortunately I am able to get out and move around independantly. Fortunate as the space allocated was not big enough for a full sized wheelchair to fit where it would need to for someone to transfer and heaven help anyone needing assistance or an area for adult changes.
11 comments:
Well, I guess you should be thankful for 'clean' and not worry so much about if you can actually fit in there to use it! :rofl
Gee ... shortsighted? I guess so!
disabled citizens account for about 4% of total population disabled people are looked upon as a second-rate citizens funny how some people cant even look you in the eye so toilets will remain rubbish rant over
sorry jurid xxx
typical..just typical..
It is like the really stupid kids at school grew up and became town planners..
As well as your post, I can't see a pull down arm to help you up. I really can't staand from a normal seat height - not without almost collapsing on the floor.
Umm, don't think that would help!
"As well as your post, I can't see a pull down arm to help you up."
I noticed that, too! *sigh*
I'm not disabled, but I cared for my MIL when she visited. I learned a little about what is needed. A raised seat for some, a handle to help yourself up/down, enough room to move, and a shelf to put things on - because people who have to use handles and wheelchairs etc very seldom are able to hold things while they do so in a toilet.
I've seen some pretty good disabled toilets - with low level sinks, towels and mirrors for wheelchair users and everything - pull cords for if you fall, elbow taps ... it can be done, but it costs money and sadly, some people are only interested in complying with the letter of the law.
Jay: Believe me, I am incredibly grateful it was clean...ooh, perhaps that's why they made it too small? If no-one can get in there to use it, well who needs to worry about cleaning it?!
Jurid: That ain't no rant, it's the sad and sorry truth! Mind you-when a wheelchair is pushed the way the BYM pushes mine (typical boy, if it's got wheels it's made to go its top speed!) with someone practically falling out for laughing-people, they stare! x
Kim: Funny you should say that...I know a couple of people who work as planners, purely because they couldn't find anything else to do! x
Elaine: If you expand the photo and look really carefully the pull down arm is just above my wheelchair. What's that, you want to be able to pull it down whilst sat on the loo with your chair next to you? Bwahahaha ;) x
Jay: Absolutely it can be done. The sad thing is that much of the time I don't think it is money that's the barrier, it's sheer ignorance of the variety of needs. It's just easier as you say to stick to the letter of the law and not think too closely about it. Sigh
You can't believe that Surveyors and designers could something so wrong, surely there are standard specifications for disabled toilets which should be followed..xx
They thought that through well then! Do we look surprised?? ;o/
I am curious what the state of disabled facilities overall is over in the UK? A you may know, the US has the "Americans With Disabilities Act" which was passed by Congress many years ago. This caused a major shift in getting access for the disabled. Does the UK have anything similar on the books?
Most buildings across the country are completely handicapped accessible, and toilets like the one you describe have all the proper specifications for wheelchair access. The only buildings that are exempt are much older ones, and even may of those have been able to make some sort of accommodation.
Rae: I think there are...which makes it even more impressive that they are all so far away from it! x
GemmaK: Exactly!
MrN: We do indeed have something similar, The Disability Discrimination Act. Unfortunately it puts the onus on the individual disabled person to make and carry out a complaint, unlike say race or sex laws which criminalise many such discriminations.
If say I could not access a local shop, which in my town is likely as the vast majority are inaccessible, then the legislation basically means I would have to raise the issue with the owner of the premises, then if they fail to act after a certain amount of time and warnings it would be me who had to take them to court using DDA an expensive and stressful process.
The DDA is basically toothless.
As for the state of disabled facilities, the photos I'm putting up of toilets are typical, I've actually never been in a disabled loo which isn't used as a store room, lacking mirror, dirty, locked or simply impossible to use because of the design, and I'm relatively speaking very mobile.
I think part of the problem can be found in the new/old building issue , because so many of our buildings are old they can be very difficult or more likely expensive to adjust and in my experience the vast majority of business owners simply don't care, after all, what's the worst that can happen to them? Oh yeah, they might eventually get taken to court and told they must make adjusments which are considered reasonable by able bodied people, it's stupid!!
There is a standard accessible wc in the english building regs. It only has to be 1.5m wide, which is actually quite small.
They've painted the door blue. However, either the wall behind the toilet or the toilet seat should be blue too. And the sink splashback. That's a common omission.
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